The Following - Series One

Watched the final episode of the first series of The Following last night. Good performances throughout the series by both Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy and the rest of the cast. And the final episode contained some horrifying and unexpected deaths. It finished on a cliffhanger - and, thankfully, there is a second series. I enjoyed it, though the violence throughout is quite strong and the atmosphere is unremittingly dark, which may not suit everyone. Neither is there much humour in it - if any! The storyline is, I must admit, farfetched, but that doesn't bother me. At least it's consistent and once you accept the basic premise that a highly intelligent psychopath could instil a devout willingness in his followers to do what he demands without question (most of the time) and be willing to sacrifice themselves on his behalf, then the whole thing works. Unlike Dexter, both the main villain and his followers are thorough going psychopaths and kill without remorse or hesitation and, for the most part, without regret. Mind you, neither is Kevin Bacon, our main protagonist, without his darker side and he too can torture and kill without hesitation if he decides that this is what he should do. An interesting scenario.